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Events

There have been four waves of financial crisis in the last thirty years. Each wave involved the failure of a significant number of banks in three, four, or more countries at about the same time. Moreover, the prices of the currencies of most these countries that were impacted in each wave declined, and many of the borrowers defaulted on their liabilities denominated in the U.S. dollar, the Euro, or some other foreign currency.

Why do ethnonational conflicts reach different degrees of violence? Why does violence continue to reoccur even after strong international intervention for conflict-resolution and democratization? To answer these questions, Maria Koinova combines research on civil wars with the study of non-violent majority-minority disputes by examining 5 degrees of violence in three cases – Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kosovo – over a 20-year period.

What can be expected from the dissatisfied electorate in Bosnia and Herzegovina? What are political parties offering and what difference can their promises make? Is the demand for change going to result in significantly different election results? Would a 'lebanonization' of Bosnia-Herzegovina provide for more prosperous society or societies, or would it lead to final fragmentation?

“We have a fairly unique moment in the history of the world,” said Steven Philip Kramer, a professor at National Defense University, at the Wilson Center on April 17. “There’s never been a time when people have voluntarily produced fewer children than is necessary for sustaining the population.”

Mapping the development of the Eastern Partnership initiative, the European Commission released a progress report on the six Eastern Partnership States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The report outlines accomplishments achieved so far and indicates critical policy areas where more attention is needed. It also serves as a reference for the EU’s approach towards the Eastern Partnership and, more specifically, the allocation of funding in the next seven years. This assessment comes one month after the EU discussed the “European Package” of incentives, intended to supplement the Association Agreements being discussed with several of the six states. Georgia and Moldova have initialed the Association Agreements last year and will be among the first countries to sign them this year.

NATO ally Turkey, long a stable, reliable and pluralistic Western partner has been shaken by a swirl of corruption allegations. In the lead up to the March 30 municipal elections, seen by many as a referendum on his leadership, Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has responded with mass dismissals and censorship, including attempts this week to ban Twitter and YouTube. In this Ground Truth Briefing, three experts discuss the implications for Turkey and the region.

On 18 September, Scotland will hold a referendum on its 300 year-old union with the rest of the United Kingdom. It is an historic event with the campaign battle already well under way. The Center’s Global Europe Program will convene several leading experts to discuss the referendum campaign and the wider implications of a ‘Yes’ vote for Edinburgh, London and Europe.

On 10 March, the fourth round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the European Union and the United States began in Brussels. This trade agreement is about more than just reducing tariff barriers; non-tariff barriers including regulatory issues are at TTIP's core. This event focuses attention on the significant regulatory chapter and the challenges and likely obstacles on the path to a successful agreement between the EU and the US.

Germany is deeply engaged in trying to resolve the crisis with Ukraine and Russia, with Chancellor Angela Merkel holding the record for the most number of phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What is Germany's leverage? What are her interests? Are there divergences in German and US policies with regard to Russia and Ukraine in this crisis? Join us for a discussion of these and other related issues with the former German Ambassador to the US, Klaus Scharioth.

Upcoming Events

Experts & Staff

Christian F. Ostermann // Director, History and Public Policy Program; Global Europe; Cold War International History Project; North Korea Documentation Project; Nuclear Proliferation International History Project